Realm of the Rogues

Chapter LXXXII

I quickly pull Dom up to his feet and position him behind me, so I stand between him and the man in the doorway.

"Oh, seems I forgot to introduce myself. I am Slayer," he then says with a mocking smirk. My head then suddenly pounds and my eyes gloss over as the vision flashes before me again. Rage fills me, as I can only imagine the torture Slayer has submitted Dom to, and what he would have done, had I not come here. I feel sick as I again remember the sight of Dom dead.

At that moment, I'm unable to control my rage, as I leap towards Slayer, nails outstretched to claw open his neck and face. Before I reach him, however, he slams the door, enveloping us in total and utter darkness. 

At once I'm reduced to that abandoned and petrified girl I had been back in that soundproof and completely void cell in the other vampire camp. I hyperventilate in panic as I spin around myself, simultaneously scared of what hides in the dark and the darkness itself. 

"Scared?" Slayer's voice echoes in a low and menacing tone throughout the cell, making it impossible to know where he is. I begin to creep backwards, eager to put my back up against a wall.

"You should be," his voice then whispers mere inches from my ear, and I shriek in panic. To my surprise, I hear Slayer curse under his breath, as if I had just stepped on my foot, and I realize, it must have hurt him when that small shriek left my throat. 

I square up as I'm reminded that I'm no longer that scared girl - I'm stronger now. Not only am I a banshee, I'm a newly turned vampire, and even if Slayer had the biggest army of vampires - which he doesn't - I would still be more powerful than him in this instant. I might be enveloped in darkness, but so is he, and he hasn't lived and navigated in it for three months straight like I have. He might believe himself to be at an advantage right now, but he is sorely mistaken, I'm going to make sure he knows that.

I quickly spin around to face where I know he just stood, and then I shoot out my arms but am only met with empty space. I have no idea where I'm positioned in the room, so I take in a deep inhale, smothering nausea brought on by the suffocating smell of rot, and trying to decipher where the bodies are instead. As I locate the stench emanating from my left, I can more certainly tell where I am.

"I'm going to make you suffer, just as much as I did your little boyfriend," Slayer taunts, but I try to shake it off, knowing he wants me to lose my temper, and I refuse to give in to him.

I move with silent steps towards the bodies and put out my hands to find the discarded chair. It's knocked over on the ground. Perfect, now I know I'm in the middle of the room. I start to move backwards to where I left Dom. I find him lying on the ground, taking shallow breaths, and my heart clenches up.

"Do you want to know all the things I did to him?" Slayer booms and I grit my teeth, the rage welling up in me again at the thought of him torturing Dom. I shake my head, trying to focus on the task at hand. Slayer's voice had come from over by the left wall, so I might have a few moments before he finds us.

I slide one hand under Dom's head, then shove my other wrist into his mouth, urging him to drink. I don't even know if vampires can feed off each other, but maybe he can since I haven't fully turned yet, as indicated by the constant pain I'm still in. Either way, I have to try something. For a second, nothing happens, then I feel his teeth dig in, and his hand clasping my arm, pulling it deeper into his mouth.

The pain lightens as that familiar euphoria envelops me, as he gulps down big mouthfuls at a time. I freeze in panic again, as a small sigh leaves my mouth before I even realize it. Slayer's stone-hard hand rips me up from the ground by my hair and his other hand squeezes tightly around my neck. I swing my feet, trying to find the ground or some kind of purchase, but find nothing.

"Found you," he muses in the most sinister voice, before then flinging me with such might against the wall. My entire body hits it at once, and I lose my breath as a million fragmented bones dig into my back, arms and legs. I hit the ground hard, only barely bracing myself with my hands, but still slamming my head into the cold stone floor. 

I want to scream in pain so bad, but then Slayer grabs me again around my neck, making it impossible. He once again yanks me up and then slowly caresses my hair with his free hand, making ice run down my spine.

"Maybe I should have a bit of fun with you before my punishment makes you too ugly, don't you think?" he says mockingly, as I'm about to take my hands up to his arm to break his grip around my neck. He intercepts one of my arms with his own, however, and even though I'm technically stronger than him, his leverage is better than mine, so my sheer strength doesn't do anything. My other hand however does grab the arm he uses to lift my body up. 

I dig my nails into his remarkably hard skin, but he doesn't even seem to flinch. This only enrages me, making me adjust my grip and then squeeze as hard as I can. I feel the bone slowly giving in, and then it snaps in a loud crack, as he screams out in pain and drops me to the ground.

"You fucking bitch! You'll pay for that!" he yells, as he kicks me so hard in the face, that I fear he might have dislocated my jaw. I quickly grab it with one hand, while I use the other to pull myself backwards away from his range, just as another kick collides with my nose, definitely breaking it.

Just as I'm sure another kick is about to reach me, I instead hear his body slam against the floor with such a loud bang, that I'm sure his skull must have fractured on impact.